October 29, 2023: Red October

Late October is treating us well this year.  I spent one of those fabulous warm days this week in the Ossipee mountains on a trek up Mt. Roberts.  As expected on a warm humid day, the distant views were hazy, but other sights were brilliant, and the color of the day was red with the mountain ash at the summit of Roberts stealing the show.

The White Mountains languish in the haze behind a red ribbon of mountain ash.

American Mountain Ash (Sorbus americana) is a northern species, though it does grow as far south as Georgia at high elevation in the Appalachian Mountains.  I remember first seeing them on the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina.  Their abundant bright red berries last well into winter, providing high calorie food to animals that inhabit the alpine zone such as grouse; moose browse on their winter twigs and sweet bark.  

I've seen both grouse and moose on Mount Roberts and the High Ridge Trail leading over to Mt Shaw.  Mt. Roberts is a moderate but highly rewarding 5.5 mile hike with great views of mountains and lakes from the many open ledges.  You can pick up a trail map describing the many hiking trails from the Lakes Region Conservation Trust which stewards over 5000 acres of land in the Ossipee Mountains.

Views along the Mt. Roberts Trail are nice even on a hazy October day.

On the hike up, well before I reached the summit and the mountain ash, another red flash had already caught my eye.

Three-toothed Cinquefoil (Sibbaldiopsis tridentata)

Three-toothed cinquefoil is an evergreen plant, keeping its leaves throughout the winter; the red leaves are last year's growth.  I don't know what happens in the third year, but there are dead, gray leaves on the ground so my guess is they are shed after two years.  It's a resilient alpine plant that thrives in the harsh environment by rooting itself in the tiniest cracks in the granite, and growing low to the ground under the winter snow.  On the bare ledges leading to the summit there was an abundance of these hardy plants.

Finding life in a crack in the granite.

At lower elevations the colors slanted higher in the color spectrum with yellow and burnt orange predominating.

Beech trees along the Settlement Trail.

The beech stands formed a tunnel through which the trail passes.  

Back down at lake-level there's still some red to see:  a few late maples and the deep red of huckleberry bushes along the shore.

Huckleberry might hang on to their leaves well into November.

Things were very quiet on my long, lazy paddle around the lake, trying to make the late summer moment last.  No more kip-kip call of the osprey, no loons pestering their parents (I saw only one lone loon - no sign of LuLu or Checkers), no turtles sunning themselves on a log on that sunny, 70 degree day.  

Looking for excuses to dawdle on the lake.

Yes, things are starting to wind down as the days become shorter and the water cooler, though some locals are still hanging around.

Having just landed, a great blue heron walks to one of its favorite fishing spots.

Did you see the full October moon on Friday night?  I caught it as it was setting on Saturday morning, with Venus watching over from above.

It was a near-monochromatic scene, but just a few minutes later came the real show, in full technicolor, courtesy of Neil Crimins.

Thanks for sharing Neil!

Can we please have a few more days like this?

October 22, 2023: Fog in the Woods and Woodies in the Fog

October days often emerge with fog in the valleys and over the lakes that sometimes doesn't burn off until mid-morning.  It's interesting to see what emerges from the fog as it lifts.  This week it has been wood ducks.

A pair of wood ducks in the morning fog.

As the day brightens more and more of them materialize.  

Each day this week I've seen at least half a dozen on the lake.

The loons paddle around in the fog as well, both the two juveniles as well as adults.  This adult was probably stopping by Wicwas for a visit or a rest stop on its way to the ocean.

A mature loon part way through its molt.

I have to look carefully to tell adults and juveniles apart now.  It's possible both of our nesting adults have left the lake as I haven't seen LuLu and Checkers with either parent this week, though it doesn't mean they won't return for visit to check on the kids.  The young ones are very quiet now - no whining and nagging for food when they're on their own.

I found the hobble bush viburnum to be especially interesting this foliage season, transitioning through a sequence of colors from green to red to a deep burgundy.

Hobblebush viburnum on October 13th.

And six days later.

They do this even as they are putting out new growth from the end of their stems.

New growth just emerging.

I'm afraid today's wind is going to bring an end to the best of the foliage for this year.  The oaks will hang on to their leaves for another couple of weeks, but the red, yellow, and orange maples will probably sacrifice most of their leaves to the forest.

A calm morning after the fog.

Damp mornings bring out the bright colors of the leaves that have left their homes and found their way to their final resting place, ready to start the process of giving themselves back to the forest floor to sustain new life as they decompose.

I hope you're able to take in the fall beauty that nature has left to give us before it fades into a much different personality, known as "November".

Two different beings pursue their piscium prey below the rising fog.

October 15, 2023: Now There are Two

Last week I saw an eagle over by Bryant Island - this week there were two eagles on the Rawson Wood Island right next to Bryant.  I saw the first one far across the lake, sitting way up high at the very top of a dead pine tree.

You have to scan well above the horizon if you're looking for eagles.

I stopped and watched for a while as it just perused its surroundings, acting as though it was at the top of the food chain - which it is.  When I saw it start to raise its tail up in the air,

I knew what was about to happen.

Right after it had reduced its ballast, it took flight and I watched it fly over to a neighboring pine. 

That's when I saw the second eagle, this one perched at the top of that tree, up with all those pine cones.

There's only room for one at top.

I figure they must be a pair.  It makes we wonder if eagles don't excrete their waste where they live.

On the same trip that I saw the eagles I also found both juvenile loons together with one parent.  

I'll keep reporting on them as long as they stay on the lake, which last year was all the way until Christmas.

I've seen a few wooly bear caterpillars this year, the species that some people say predict the winter weather, but I also saw a new caterpillar which I think is a Virginian tiger moth.  

Virginian Tiger Moth caterpillar (Spilosoma virginica)

The well-known black and brown wooly bear caterpillar is also a member of the tiger moth family; it's formal name is the Isabella tiger moth (Pyrrharctia isabella).  The Virginian tiger moth caterpillar I saw is a solid, rich golden color and not something I recall seeing before.  Looking up what the adult moth looks like, there's a good chance I've seen one around but never noted it, as they are a plain, non-descript white moth, sometimes with black spots on its wings.  

Virginian Tiger Moth.  Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

Someone asked recently how many beaver lodges are on Lake Wicwas.  I have found 12 on the lake plus three more on streams right above or below the lake, though some appear to have been abandoned.  Here's a map showing the locations of lodges I've found, but there are certainly others I haven't discovered.  Each lodge may have 6 residents in the summer:  two parents, a couple of last years kits as well as the new years kits. If eight lodges are occupied that would mean 48 beavers on the lake.

It sure was nice to have some classic fall weather this week to allow pleasant walks in the woods and paddles on the water - with no bugs!  The foliage might not be as brilliant as in some years, and as mentioned last week, one theory is that there was too much rain for deep colors to form.  And here's another observation:  Maple trees right on the shoreline, which have had even more water than usual with the high water levels flooding their roots all summer, have the best color I've seen anywhere.  Maybe they have adapted to wet conditions over time so the wet summer didn't affect them.  My grandfather did call them swamp maples after all.

To find the best color this year you may need to go no farther than a local wetland.

October 8, 2023: Spotted Lanternfly

Imprint this image in your memory:

Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula)

There were posters with warnings about the invasive spotted lanternfly everywhere in Pennsylvania.  I only saw one during our visit, on a picnic table right at our campground.  It's a pretty bug, but with an ugly impact on trees and crops, including grapes, apples, hardwood trees, and - horror of horrors - hops!  The spotted lanternfly is native to Asia and was first found in North America in Pennsylvania in 2014 and is now estimated to cause crop damages of $500M in just that one state.  It has since spread to a large portion of the United States including as far north as Massachusetts.  It's been found in California - look out wine country!  It hasn't been seen in New Hampshire yet, but it will be here soon so it's worth recognizing it so when you see one you can report it so preventive steps can be taken.  You can find more information about spotted lanternflies from the USDA here.  We were very careful to be sure none of these pests were stowaways on our trip home.

We returned from our excursion south in time to enjoy this fabulous summer week in New Hampshire.  There are still lots of boats on the lake and plenty of people were out taking advantage of the beautiful weather.

Linda and I had a few trips on the lake ourselves on those warm days.  Passing behind Bryant Island at one point we must have flushed out a bald eagle that was perched there, as it flew directly over us.

It didn't go far, just across the water to perch on a white pine on one of the Rawson Wood Islands.

On that same outing we saw that both of our juvenile loons are still here, as is at least one parent.  

I'm guessing this is Checkers with mom - just a guess.

I think LuLu and Checkers have little to fear from eagles and hawks at this point in their development.  Adult loons are now starting to lose their brilliant summer breeding plumage, noticeable first around the base of the beak in the photo above, and this will expand down their body as the season progresses.

Yesterday wasn't kind for leaf-peepers though the rest of the weekend looks good, and the foliage is cooperating, nearing peak color farther north in the mountains.  It's starting to bloom here in the Lakes Region too.

Maple trees turning color along a shoreline of Lake Wicwas.

I've heard reports that colors may be more muted this year because of all the rain.  High moisture content in leaves reduces the density of sugars in them, and the wet summer promoted the growth of mold on the surface of the leaves.  But it's still an especially rewarding time to be out in nature.

Even the lily pads get in the act.

Finally, I want to plug the work day the Meredith Conservation Commission is sponsoring next Saturday, October 14th, from 9:00 to 12:00 at the Page Pond Town Forest, Barnard Ridge Road entrance.  This is an opportunity for people who can't participate on Tuesday Trailcrew days to help with our town forests.  Tools will be provided, but bring along gloves, and a hand saw or pruners if you want.  Come for an hour or the whole morning - there will be coffee and Cider Belly donuts too!

I hope to see you there!

Oct 1, 2023: Pennsylvania Dutch Country

This week was spent exploring Pennsylvania Dutch Country and the mid-Appalachian Mountain area.  One of our excursions was a hike on Kittatinny Ridge to Hawk Mountain which is a raptor sanctuary.  On the migration path for raptors, the sanctuary tallies 17 different species of raptor flying overhead, and the total count to date, only half way through the migration, is 8812.  Unfortunately, the day we were there it was very slow. Early in the morning, before we arrived, a group of 181 broad-winged hawks flew over, but the whole rest of the day saw only 13 more birds. While we were at the summit we saw several turkey vultures, plus one peregrine falcon so far off in the distance that I couldn't convince myself I saw it.  But we did get some good close looks at turkey vultures as they soared over the ridge. 

They were all immature, thus the gray rather than red head.

Even though vultures hunt in a different manner than hawks and eagles they are still in the raptor family.  They have highly attuned abilities to find and ride on thermal and mountain updrafts, and use their maneuverable wing structures to make optimum use of the available currents.

We were hoping to see more of our New Hampshire birds like osprey and broad-wing hawks on their way to South America, but we couldn't have hoped for a prettier day on Kittatinny Ridge.

The view from the north summit where the count takes place.

This is the south summit which has a fully accessible trail from the trailhead.

I've noted a couple of times this fall the good mast year we're experiencing in New Hampshire with large crops of white pine, beech, and red oak mast, and the same seems to taking place in Pennsylvania. Wherever we went, branches and ground were well adorned with nuts of the region:  hickory, chestnut, oak, black walnut, even locust.  

Locust seed pods.

Black walnut fruit, the size of small oranges.

I picked up a small bagful of black walnuts to find out just how palatable these wild nuts are and how they compare to English walnuts. It's a bit of a process to prepare them, something that gave me more appreciation for what it takes to bring commercial nuts to market as well as how much time and effort early inhabitants of North America put into harvesting food.  First the thick outer skin needed to removed. This was easily accomplished by rolling them one at a time under my foot, which broke open the fruit to expose the nut. 

The nut came out easily, but then the work began. There's a thick, stringy layer tightly adhered to the outside of the nut which needs to be completely removed or it will grow potentially harmful mold, and will ruin the taste of the nutmeat inside.  This took a lot of scraping, scrubbing, and washing - with gloves on because the nuts have strong tannins that will stain your hands terribly.  Once clean I put them in a mesh bag to thoroughly dry out. 

Cleaned black walnuts

After aging for several weeks to several months they'll be ready to sample, after another challenge.  Store bought English walnuts are hard enough to crack, and black walnuts are even harder. It seems it's almost impossible to crack them without pulverizing the nutmeat inside even using special tools designed for this purpose. One technique I read about says to dry them until the shell cracks along the seam, and then pry it open with a knife.  I'll report my experience with opening them as well as whether they taste good enough to warrant the effort.

Pennsylvania also grows some big and beautiful trees. 

Sycamore

This sycamore tree is in the Landis Valley near Lancaster.  It's growing next to a circa 1900 hotel that's on the old Pennsylvania coach road and is now protected by the Landis Valley Museum.  

Tulip poplar trees are common in the area - I saw many - and they are even bigger than sycamore, competing with white pine and eastern hemlock for the tallest trees in the east. 

Tulip Popular (Liriodendron tulipifera)

Another big tree?  White oak.  

White oak

This one is growing along the Great Oak Trail at the Quittie Creek Nature Park in Anneville.  Quittie Park was a disaster of an abandoned industrial site turned illegal dumping area.  The town of Anneville committed to turn it into a park and it's now a model of town park with a pristine river running through it.

Other trees just have huge leaves like this Catalpa leaf torn off by the winds of Ophelia.

In addition to discovering nature, we also learned much of the local history and culture of the area from  the original inhabitants of the valley to the Amish and Mennonite communities to the development of industries such as coal, iron, and yes, chocolate.  Maybe some of that will get into future posts, but for now I'll just say the Amish have remarkable social, family, and work values, and their farms are beautiful.

Hyacinth beans form a colorful tunnel on this Amish farm.